The price of calcium pantothenate increased by nearly 42% in a single day and more than 70% since new year’s day.
According to Baichuan Fuying data, on January 13, the price of calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5) jumped, and the latest price directly rose to 230 yuan / kg from 162 yuan / kg yesterday, with a single day price jump of nearly 42%. since new year’s day, the price of calcium pantothenate has increased by more than 70%. Compared with the low point of 75 yuan / kg in mid-2021, the latest price has increased by 207%.
According to the report of China feed industry information network, some calcium pantothenate enterprises increased their prices by an amazing margin. Some manufacturers quoted 360 yuan / kg in China, and the export quotation was US $50 / kg, which was nearly three times higher than the previous quotation.
Meanwhile, the price of calcium pantothenate in the European market is also high. The price this week is 17-19 euros / kg, double the price of 9.2-9.8 euros / kg at the end of September last year.
shortage of raw material supply and environmental protection factors led to price jump
Historically, the price rise of calcium pantothenate is mostly related to environmental protection supervision. As some raw materials of calcium pantothenate are flammable, explosive and toxic gases or liquids, cyanide containing wastewater will be produced in the production process, which is difficult to treat. China’s environmental protection is becoming more and more strict, which has significantly limited the production capacity of calcium pantothenate in China. during the rise of calcium pantothenate market in 2017 and 2019, it was subject to strong supervision on safety and environmental protection.
Two important intermediates are needed in the synthesis of calcium pantothenate, namely pantothenate lactone and β- Aminopropionic acid, in which isobutyraldehyde and hydrocyanic acid are required in the production of pantothenic acid lactone. Cyanogen containing wastewater will be generated in the synthesis process of pantothenic acid lactone, which requires high sewage treatment capacity. Many manufacturers have limited pollution treatment capacity and can only limit the production plan according to the current pollution treatment capacity, which is greatly restricted by environmental protection. The increment of isobutyraldehyde unit is low, the demand for neopentyl glycol and alcohol ester at the two downstream of isobutyraldehyde increases, the production capacity is insufficient and the supply is tight.
In addition, factors such as limited production capacity, poor logistics, rising prices of upstream raw materials and replenishment of downstream inventory before the Spring Festival also led to soaring prices of calcium pantothenate.
Baichuan Yingfu also pointed out that the current round of price increase of calcium pantothenate began in September 2021. It is mainly affected by double control of energy consumption and tight supply of raw materials. Relevant manufacturers are willing to support the price. After the last round of price decline, the competitive relationship between manufacturers has improved, and the price increase is expected to gradually reach an agreement.
calcium pantothenate market is an oligopoly
The global vitamin B5 market is highly oligopoly, there are only 6 major global manufacturers, Yifan Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd(002019) , Shandong Xinfa, Shandong Huachen, Brother Enterprises Holding Co.Ltd(002562) , DSM and BASF. at present, the annual production capacity is 27000 tons, of which Yifan Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd(002019) is the leader of calcium pantothenate, with a production capacity of about 8000 tons to 12000 tons, accounting for about 40% of the total global production capacity.
Tianfeng Securities Co.Ltd(601162) pointed out that this round of calcium pantothenate price rise is a rebound at the bottom of the cycle, and the profitability of calcium pantothenate is expected to be greatly improved. Among the major manufacturers, Yifan Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd(002019) has a high global market share and occupies a leading position. The company adopts the market-oriented pricing strategy, superimposes the scale effect of the company’s production capacity, and the net profit is expected to increase significantly.
Brother Enterprises Holding Co.Ltd(002562) has an annual capacity of 5000 tons of vitamin B5, including 4000 tons of calcium pantothenate. Henghua biology has some capacity of calcium pantothenate. In 2020, the company’s d-Calcium pantothenate business revenue was nearly 40 million yuan.
Guosheng Securities pointed out that the downstream feed output of vitamins had improved year-on-year. As of October 2021, China’s total industrial feed output was 243.6 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, including 105.99 million tons of pig feed, a year-on-year increase of 49.5%. At the same time, the supply side industry pattern continues to be optimized. There is little new capacity in the ve industry in the future, and the industry supply and demand pattern is greatly optimized. It is expected that the ve industry is expected to enter the medium and long-term profit cycle.
